You can never trust the coyotes

To the editor:

(re: “Coyote attack has neighbors worried,” Oct. 27)

I have been writing about nature for many years. While I am awed by the sheer complexity and beauty of nature, I also recognize nature is not benign.

Coyotes have been a presence in the Bronx for decades. A few weeks ago, I wrote to our local representatives that I had heard the howling of a larger number of them during the very early hours of the morning. Just today, in a discussion with my newspaper delivery person, she tells me that she has seen multiple coyotes regularly when she is down near Douglas Avenue, and that she is frightened.

Coyotes are wild carnivorous animals and their generally shy behavior cannot be relied upon at all times. There is a reason why wild dogs are no longer allowed to roam city streets.

Coyotes are known to prey on small dogs and can, likewise, attack small children. We cannot allow our romanticization of nature to degrade public safety.

If the numbers of present animals are small, they can possibly be trapped and removed to wilder locations. But we cannot depend on the good will of wild animals as we go about our lives.

Sura Jeselsohn